Use a sweet dessert wine like a Sauternes for this.
SERVES 6
1 bottle Sauternes
1 cup water
1⁄ 2 cup honey
6 firm pears, peeled
1. Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. 2. Let
simmer for 10 minutes, and let cool. 3. Place the pears on a
tray and put under the broiler for a few seconds, just to get
some color.
Serve with sauce.
Brie with Pear, Nuts, & Honey
This is the easiest dessert, snack, or appetizer ever. Use what
you like best, but don’t skip the honey. It’s the extra touch that
makes it so wonderful.
SERVES 4
1 small whole ripe wheel of brie, room temperature
1 small pear
6 sage leaves
6 to 8 candied walnuts
honey
1. Place brie on a platter and add pear, sage, and walnuts.
2. Drizzle with honey and serve.
Sage & Rosemary Roasted Chicken
I love roasting chickens—it’s so easy and the result is so much
better than anything you can buy.
SERVES 4
2 tablespoons sage, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and chopped
1⁄ 2 teaspoon salt
1⁄ 4 teaspoon pepper
1 large organic chicken
glug of olive oil
small potatoes
carrots, sliced
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. Mix together sage, rosemary,
pine nuts, salt, and pepper in a bowl. 3. Loosen breast skin of
chicken and place mixture underneath. 4. If there is any of the
mixture left, use that for the cavity of the chicken. 5. Tie legs
together using kitchen twine. 6. Rub chicken with olive oil
and place in an ovenproof dish. 7. Add potatoes and carrots.
8. Drizzle with olive oil. 9. Bake for about 11⁄ 2 hours.
1. Whip the cream to soft peaks. 2. Add mascarpone and sugar
and beat until you have a smooth cream. 3. Place 7 cookies
on a cake stand. 4. Spread with a layer of cream. 5. Continue
layering cookies and cream until you run out of cookies.
6. Finish with cream.
Let the cake set for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Lemon Curd Trifle
A really fast and delicious dessert.
SERVES 4
1 jar lemon curd
4 sugar cookies, crumbled
plain yogurt
4 sugar cookies
1. Fill the bottom of 4 small thin glasses with lemon curd.
2. Add crumbled cookies and yogurt.
Serve with whole cookies.
Heart Sugar Cookies
A good old trusted recipe.
MAKES ABOUT 60
23⁄ 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄ 2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
11⁄ 2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sanding sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. In a small bowl, stir together flour,
baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl,
cream together butter and sugar until smooth. 4. Beat in egg
and vanilla. 5. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. 6. Roll out
the dough to a thin layer, and cut out trees and hearts, and
place onto ungreased cookie sheets. 7. Cut out smaller hearts
in the large ones for the sandwich cookies. 8. Top with sanding
sugar. 9. Bake 8–10 minutes in the oven, or until golden. 10. Let
stand on cookie sheet 2 minutes before removing to cool on
wire racks.
If you want to make sandwich cookies, place a little lemon
curd between 2 cookies and serve.
